This invention relates generally to a children's vertical gymnastic climb toy with portability feature, more particularly to a children's upright, stabilized rope climb fitness and recreation apparatus capable of being mounted for use indoors or outdoors.
For years, the multi-billion dollar health and fitness industry has disproportionately focused on health promotion in adult individuals as a prescription for happy and healthy long life. Well-publicized reports of the pressing need to improve the nation's population health have increasingly inspired individual and population-based wellness activity. In response, families and schools are increasingly committed to ensure that children are sufficiently exposed to health-promoting physical activity.
Experts recommend that children capable of physical activity should engage in exercise that is aerobic, muscle and bone strengthening. To the naturally playful child, climbing vertically up and down a length of rope or rope-type apparatus is a virtually irresistible activity. Whether enjoyed alone or in the company of ones' peers, this physical activity is at once challenging, body strengthening, and exhilarating to a young child. Though less prevalent today, rope climbing exercise continues to attract young people wherever offered, most typically at some schools, fitness gymnasiums, and military venues. Although opportunities for children to enjoy vertical climbing have been largely limited to these venues, from time to time the opportunity also presents on outdoor playground structures featuring some type of ladder or other vertically-oriented climb equipment. Whatever the venue, it is to be acknowledged that children by and large enjoy climbing wherever and whenever given the opportunity.
As a health promoting physical activity, rope climbing stimulates the cardiovascular system while strengthening wrists, hands, and upper body muscles. It is considered to be an effective fitness exercise and tool for training the upper body because the user is required to support his or her entire weight while ascending the rope. Descending the rope also provides upper body training to the user.
Prior art reveals flexible, unreinforced climbing ropes of considerable length (20 foot), typically mounted in fitness gyms. Although the climbing ropes are sufficiently durable to support their intended work load, the inherently loose and elastic property of the rope coupled with the height of the vertical climb combine to create substantial disadvantage and risks of serious slip and fall injuries to climbers. Suspended from a ceiling fixture or support rafter high above the gym floor, these flaccid and unrestrained climbing ropes are prone to sway, twist and turn unpredictably during use. As such, these apparatus pose risks of harm to children.
Conventional rope that has not been stabilized has a propensity to twist and sway uncontrollably when used in climbing.
Since most type of ropes used in the gymnasium rope climb setting are usually made of rough material such as hemp, climbers ascending and descending such gymnasium-mounted ropes are more susceptible to sustain abrasions or injury to legs, feet, arms and/or hands. Thus, preferred embodiments of the present invention use a rope of less abrasive rope material, polypropylene. However, other rope materials can be used.